When making pizza, often the dough bubbles up hugely, displacing toppings and generally making a mess of the pie.

Are there any secrets to preventing this? Does the key lie in the dough recipe, the distribution of toppings, or something else? Or is there no real secret, other than watching and popping the bubbles when they form?

4 Answers
4

There’s a difference between bubbles
formed from under-proofing versus
over-proofing. Bubbles from
under-proofing tend to be flat but
large in diameter. If unpopped, they
can blow up an entire pizza. This is
the process by which pita or pocket
bread is made. Bubbles from
over-proofing tend to be high but
smaller in diameter. They rise up like
little ping-pong balls and eventually
form a hole at the top, at which time
they stop expanding. They almost
always burn. Most pizza bubbling
problems are of the under-proofed
type.

To resolve a bubbling problem, dough
fermentation must be adjusted
accordingly. To stop bubbling caused
by under-proofed dough, increase the
amount of fermentation. To stop
bubbling caused by over-proofed dough,
reduce the amount of fermentation.

In addition to proper proofing, it has
been found that reducing the amount of
water in a dough formula can help with
reducing bubbling when dealing with
the under-proofed type. The reduction
in moisture aids in creating the
pinpoint holes in the cells walls.

In addition, you want to make sure you properly knead your dough. Some people poke tiny holes in the dough to prevent overly large bubbles. As a final resort you could observe your pizza in the oven and poke bubbles as they form.

I worked at a local pizza restaurant for a couple of years, and that's exactly what we did - open the door every couple of minutes, spin the pie and pierce any bubbles with a fork.
–
GalacticCowboySep 2 '10 at 12:53

After the dough has been rolled and stretched, dock the dough. You can buy a fancy docker (a 'spikey' rolling pin type device) but unless you make lots of pizzas, it seems silly to have a specialized tool. A fork will work just fine.

I must admit, I've been caught with a fork in each hand "drumming," dancing, and singing whilst making pizza. :)

Letting your dough rest in the refrigerator at least overnight and up to a couple of days before rolling out will stop big bubbles. The bubbles are co2 gas being released by the fermentation caused by the yeast. Refrigeration drastically reduces the speed at which the co2 is released but allows the flavor to develop fully. A long rest in the fridge will also make the dough easier to roll out by reducing "bounce back" from the elasticity of the dough.

We occasionally buy pizza dough at the supermarket, keeping it in the fridge for a couple of days, until we are motivated enough for making a pizza. More than once I saw the bag really inflate as the dough gets fermented. Unfortunately, this never stopped crust bubbles from forming.
–
ysapJun 21 at 12:28